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Month: April 2018

INDIANAPOLIS To quarterback or not to quarterback, that is the question for the Giants.

Playing lousy enough to lock up the No. 2 pick in a draft is supposed to simplify the situation, but this year, with this team, the scenarios are complicated. The Giants already have their quarterback of the present in Eli Manning and may have one for the future in Davis Webb. There are many holes on the roster in need of immediate plugging, and running back Saquon Barkley, guard Quenton Nelson and, to a lesser extent (given the presence of Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon), defensive end Bradley Chubb would all be tremendous infusions of talent in vital areas.

However, if you don’t love the guy and don’t believe in him with all your heart and soul, Saquon Barkley, if he’s there at two, is the most obvious choice in the draft. He’s special, he’s different, he’s all those things. And then on top of that, as sort of a dark horse, and the hog mollie comes into play, Quenton Nelson in my opinion is one of the two best players in this draft. I think Barkley and Quenton Nelson are the two best football players in this draft.

You’re sitting at number two and you’ve got a bad offensive line. You can talk all you want about the quarterbacks and the wideouts and their running backs, but if you can’t block for ’em, that’s in [Gettleman’s] head, that’s got to be.

Griffin, who wasn’t even initially invited to the Indianapolis Combine, is trying to become the first one-handed player drafted in the modern era. The college star had a good start Saturday, doing 20 reps when, My goal was six.

As a result, he became closed off and depressed, she added. He didn’t hang out with his friends .?.?. LeBron [James] would invite him over and he just wanted to be at home.

Crowley also struggled to adapt to her new life in suburban Ohio. I was unhappy, Crowley said. I didn’t have someone that made me feel .?.?. like I had a purpose. I was just a baby-sitter.

Crowley admits that the two had been drinking the day of their October 2015 domestic dispute and said that she was intoxicated, but Manziel, who was driving, had probably a little more than two drinks. Not wasted. He wasn’t out of his mind.

Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith last played an NFL game in 2015. It’s looking more an more like that will be the last NFL game he ever plays.

Via multiple reports, Smith has been involved in another off-field situation. As explained by NBC Sports California, Smith was involved in a domestic violence incident on Saturday night. Police currently are searching for him.

Per Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer, Jerry Richardson will skip the event again, sending COO Tina Becker to the meeting to speak in his place instead.

That’s firmly #asexpected, as Richardson has avoided league meetings for the last several years, other than an appearance at a spring meeting which happened to be in Charlotte.

He has taken a back seat in league matters anyway, stepping away from all the committees he previously served on. But the ongoing league investigation of his workplace misconduct (which sparked his quick decision to sell the team) didn’t do anything to encourage him to travel.

Owners are expected to get an update from someone involved with the team on the status of the sale talks. The latest name to emerge, according to a report from the Observer, is Canadian steel magnate Alan Kestenbaum. He joins Steelers minority partner David Tepper, South Carolina businessman Ben Navarro, and Philadelphia e-commerce investor Michael Rubin.

Still, the clock is ticking, in two ways. First, as of next Monday, Brees officially can entertain offers from other teams. Second, as of next Wednesday, the $18 million in dead money remaining from his most recent extension hits the cap for 2018; an extension is needed in order to keep the charge for bonuses paid in the past at $6 million this year, $6 million next year, and $6 million in 2020.

Condon surely has learned during his discussions with other teams whether other teams would like to make a run at Brees and, if so, what another team would pay.

Not surprisingly, there have been no leaks about other teams being interested in Brees. With the Saints intent on keeping him, and with Brees supposedly intent on staying, there’s no reason to get a fan base excited about the possibility of a first-ballot Hall of Famer joining the chase for a championship. But any team thinking about paying big money to Kirk Cousins should be thinking about paying the same, if not more, to Brees one of the best quarterbacks of all time and a guy who has proven time and again that he can move the ball consistently and effectively.

Mike Zimmer says wide receiver Laquon Treadwell needs to get out of his own way

Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell was the 23rd overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. Despite his first-round selection by the Minnesota Vikings, Treadwell has struggled to be productive through his first two seasons in the NFL.

Speaking at the NFL Combine on Thursday, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said that Treadwell needs to stop incurring the self-inflicted problems that have plagued him through the first two seasons.

Sam is not the kid that you speed date. He’s the kid that you marry, Palmer said. As he goes through this process and gets to spend a bunch of time with Cleveland and some of these other teams, it’s very predictable for people like myself that are in his circle, that people will fall in love the more they get to know him.

If, for some reason, the Browns pass on Darnold, he likely will wind up in New York with one of the two teams picking at 2 and 3.

It would be awesome, Darnold said of playing in New York. I just want to go wherever I’m wanted. Whoever wants to pick me up, I’ll be happy to play there.

Something tells me the fans of that team will be plenty happy, too.

Well, Matt’s in Chicago, so he knows all about him, Veach said. When teams watch Albert, they’ll understand how valuable he is. We certainly feel the same way. We’d be super excited to get him back, but we know we have to go through the process here.

Wilson caught 42 passes for 554 yards last year, including a 10-catch, 147-yard game in Week 17 (when Patrick Mahomes started at quarterback).

The Bears obviously need help at receiver, and have been mentioned as a possible trade destination for Jarvis Landry.

What Cousins — perhaps unwittingly — has done, though, is change the way coveted free agents negotiate with teams from now on. Surely, now that G-word will be much more a part of conversations.

Here are three other observations from the frenetic eve of the first day of the NFL free-agent signing period: